“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” – Benjamin Franklin
I told a little white lie …
Throughout this website I mention I create video content in “three simple steps”.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Yes, there are three step to a successful video production, and in my defence, I do highlight the importance of step one – pre-planning.
However, I don’t mention that this stage – (the most important of them all) – ‘Planning and Concept Development’, has a further 4 sub-steps.
How to plan a video shoot.
With my decades experiences I’m here to give a helping hand, providing you with a collection of top tips to help you.
Whatever the usage.
Social media videos, YouTube content to building a video content marketing strategy – planning is key.
Top Tips
Plan for video content creation.
Here’s a little help from me to make your video production hit the spot for your viewers.
I have to mention this one. Yes, it seem very simple, but it’s far too often over looked. Make sure the content is talking to your audience. Always think, do your target viewer care about the topic?
What’s in it for them?
You have a great idea for video content, how are you going to create it? You could use your own mobile phone? Perhaps a friend you know is ‘good with a camera’.
One thing for sure is, don’t cut corners on the video production.
If you do, your brilliant, your well planned video, might turn into the next video nasty and no one wants that! (Unless of course, you are creating a horror film)!
Finding an experienced – nice to work with – video production company or videographer; camera operator, video editor or aerial drone operator will not only make the production feel like a ‘Netflix’ premiere, but also support you at the pre-planning stage.
Which leads me nicely onto the next tip …
This is right up there for importance. Make sure your videographer is in tune with you about your idea and how it will be created.
An experienced video production company or videographer will not only give first hand experience of how to create your video content, but most importantly give feedback on your approach to the subject. Will it work? If not, how can we make it work.
This suggestion is all over the internet – making sure you create a storyboard. Some videos require a really detailed storyboard, while other video content not so much. It just depends on what you are creating.
It can seem daunting at first, but really, it’s not. Look at it as if you are breaking down the video into smaller sequences, carefully building the video on paper.
I have a simple storyboard template, in the word format, you can download for free. This makes a great starting point for your video content planning.